03 July 2009 - 10H15
Judge orders Elise's parents to seek agreement
A family court judge on Friday ordered the parents of a three-year-old Franco-Russian girl at the centre of an international custody battle to come to an agreement before considering their respective demands.
The family court judge of Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône) on Friday ordered the parents of a three-year-old Franco-Russian girl at the centre of an international custordy battle to come to an agreement before considering their respective demands.
The decision was welcomed by the lawyer representing the girl's father, Jean-Michel André. "This decision has succeeded in protecting both Elise and the rights of her parents," Victor Gioia said.
The girl's mother, Irina Belenkaya, 36, was stopped at the Hungarian-Ukrainian border on April 12 as she tried to take her daughter Elise to Russia. A Hungarian court later ordered her sent back to France.
Elise has been at the centre of a bitter custody battle between her Russian mother and her French father since they split in 2007. Her father wants sole parental rights while her mother wants 50-50 joint custody.
She was abducted on March 20 by two men and a woman in the southern French city of Arles, where she lived with her father. André was badly beaten during the kidnapping.
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